Immigration work in 2020 means we have to roll with the changes! Just when we expected the government’s fee increase to go in effect last week, a court found the government may have acted unlawfully and issued a temporary injunction, which halted the 2020 fee changes.
On the one hand, this is good news. Applicants who work quickly will still have a window of opportunity to submit their applications and pay according to the 2016 government fee schedule (in most cases, cheaper). On the other hand, we are left again with uncertainty as to when the fee increase will actually go into effect.
Because the court order could be lifted at any time without notice, it is impossible to know whether the 2016 or 2020 fee will be required at the time of submitting an application. If the precisely correct fee is not included with the application, the government will reject the application several weeks later. When we get to the final stages of preparing an application package, we will determine the correct fee amount. Clients might be responsible to pay according to the 2016 government fee schedule. For the following applications, the 2016 fee schedule is slightly higher than the 2020 fee schedule:
- Form I-485, Application for Adjustment of Status (current fee $1,225; new fee $1,130)
- I-140, Immigrant Visa Petition (current fee $700; new fee $555)
- I-90, Green Card Renewal (current fee $540; new fee $405)
We are contacting clients, for whom we are preparing application packages, to resolve this government fee issue to make sure the proper fee is submitted with their application package. We understand the uncertainty can be frustrating. We are working hard to make the process as smooth as possible for our clients, despite the government’s continuous policy changes.